Most likely you have already interacted with an online chatbot or automated phone system for getting product information or resolving a support issue. The majority of these systems use artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to understand your questions and predict what you are looking for to provide you with accurate and useful information in a user-friendly way.

Busy consumers are now becoming more comfortable using these automated systems as the systems are becoming smarter, friendlier, and faster. So how could a marketing platform use chatbots to get consumers more engaged with relevant and personalized marketing messages? We believe these four opportunities are quite attractive to consider.

Start Chatbot Conversations at the Right Time

Consumers are very familiar with initiating online chats from a web page. But what if a consumer wanted to initiate a chat conversation directly from an email, SMS, or a push message? It’s possible.

In the message, include a personalized link that passes information about the message context and the consumer to a chatbot running in a messaging application, like Facebook Messenger. Once the consumer clicks the link, the chatbot can start a relevant conversation.

For example, a consumer may ask the chatbot about the shipping cost for a sale item that she saw in an email message. Based on her preferences, the chatbot would send an email, SMS, or push message with shipping cost options. This provides a fast and efficient way for getting information that leads to greater customer experience.

Initiate or Influence an Orchestrated Marketing Program

Multi-stage marketing programs are a great way of delivering relevant, timely messages throughout a consumer’s journey (e.g., purchasing a car or refinancing a loan). Interactions with a chatbot can initiate or influence these programs.

For example, when a consumer expresses interest in a fixed rate mortgage in a conversation with a chatbot, she can be entered into an orchestration program that first sends an email with an online mortgage application form followed by a series of other personalized messages based on her subsequent actions. Similarly, if the consumer is already in a journey and has reached a specific stage (e.g., waiting for income verification), she can start another conversation with a chatbot that can influence her subsequent paths in the orchestrated program.

Deliver Relevant Promotional Messages

While a consumer is conversing with a chatbot, there is an opportunity to directly or indirectly present promotional information that is relevant to the conversation. For example, the chatbot could recommend an add-on product or service (e.g., extended warranty), or a relevant advertisement could be displayed on the messaging application.

Learn From Your Chatbot Conversations

A chatbot platform can analyze various consumer conversations to determine specific behavior, intent, and sentiment for that consumer. For example, the chatbot may learn that the consumer is interested in a fixed 30-year mortgage from various lenders but is concerned about high closing costs. This information, along with other interactions that the consumer may have had with various messages or conversations about different real estate properties, could determine certain profile (e.g., income level, interest in type of house) and intent (e.g., how soon ready to borrow), and sentiment (e.g., favored lenders). This additional information could improve targeting and personalization of the subsequent marketing messages and chatbot conversations.